Naruto Shippuden: The Crusade
by azazemon
Summary: A powerful empire has waged war on the land and have already attacked the leaf and sand village, as well as assassination attempts on Akatsuki. The ninja of Naruto must now work together to stop his unholy crusade.
1. Chapter 1

_**EPILOGUE**_

The sky was dark and lightning struck as he walked out to the balcony of his twisted castle. Wearing black armor that covered every part of his body, and eyes red as blood, he looked over his army and frowned. His soldiers cheered as their king looked at them from his balcony. He raised an arm, and they were silent.

"The time for us to rule this land has finally come! Today, this land shall be under a new rule, my rule!"

His men cheered, raising their weapons, which were swords, shields and spears. He raised his hand again, and they were silent.

"Crush any and all who would dare oppose my rule." he said. As he left the balcony, his men cheered even louder and marched out.

A stringy, gaunt looking servant approached him. In comparison of height, the stringy man was 5 feet, and his king was 8.

"Yes sire? You called for my faction of expeirments?" he gave a crooked smile.

"There are still those who will oppose my will. I want you to send some of your best assassins to these places: Konohagekare, Sunagakure, these two villages will be my examples to the world of the fate of those would should dare oppose me."

"But sire...with the others still alive, it is possible they could launch a successful strike and weaken the empire."

As his lord turned to look at him, he regretted those words. His lords face was covered by a large helmet, but he could feel him staring at him in anger. He walked up to him, and back-hand slapped him with his hand. The servant flew and landed hard on the marble floor. He walked up to him and grabbed his throat, lifting him in the air.

"Never, ever, assume that my mighty empire, will ever fall to such weaklings." he threw him to the ground,"Get out of my sight."

The servant dashed out of the throne room, almost falling down the stairs in his escape. He called in another servant.

"Yes my lord?"

"I've been hearing rumors of a very secretive group of...ninja are they called? Their organization is called Akatsuki, and it is said to have members who've slaughtered villages. I want a group of our best assassins to find and eliminate this group. Failure is not an option, you know the consequences."

"Yes my lord." the servant said walking out.

The servant went into an old house and walked down to the basement. A giant stone door stood there, and he turned and opened it to an underground lair. Shady characters turned to look at him enter, and one stood up.

"So, what did he command?"

"We are to find and eliminate the criminal group known as Akatsuki."

"Never heard of them." one guy said.

"Well, neither have I, but our lord feels they are a threat to his rule, and so we must eliminate those threats."

"I think the real threat are those three who left." Some one shouted.

"That is a forbidden subject, hold your tongue!" the servant ordered.

"Grandmaster, you know as well as the rest of us the danger those three pose to the empire."

"They stole the sword, along with all the things we did to make sure they could-"

"That's enough! They are not part of the mission, and so they are not a topic to discuss. These are your orders, now go!"

One assassin slipped a note to the other,"Read it after our mission. We'll all handle this situation ourselves."

The Grandmaster raised his arm,"For Lord Archaen!" he yelled. The other assassins echoed his cry and vanished, off to fulfill their mission.


	2. Chapter 2

The guards of Sunagakure didn't react fast enough when the assault came, because the army rose from the dirt right in front of the village and charged. Gaara was at the wall in a matter of seconds to see what had happened. His guards were doing a good job repelling the invaders, barely. Every second another body dropped. Kankuro and Temari finally arrived on the scene, and the fight for their village began. The first thing Gaara did, was erect a wall around the entire city to keep the invaders out. From there he began to shoot sand needles from the wall to impale the soldiers, cutting down their numbers line by line. The soldiers eventually realized what was happening, and began to retreat. Gaara made sure everything was perfectly quiet before he let his wall fall to the sand. One of the soldiers was alive, barely. Kankuro grabbed him by his chestplate and brought him up some.

"Who sent you?"

The soldier looked at him and then began to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"You will know...soon enough." he laughed, but suddenly stopping, he spat his on Kankuro's face. Clearly pissed, Kankuro got out a kunai and slit his throat. Even with his throat cut open, the soldier continued to laugh.

Temari looked at Gaara,"We should contact the leaf about this, they might've gotten the same little surprise." He shook his head in agreement.

Neji was outside the village, training to make his byakugan see farther. Mumbling things he saw, he began to see numerous people heading swiftly towards the village. Quickly, he ran back towards the town gates to warn the guards.

"Guards! I think the village is in danger! Somethings coming!"

"What makes you think-" the guard never finished his sentence, an arrow through his head made sure of that.

The other guards looked out into the distance to see the large mass of troops marching to the village.

"Send word to the Fifth immediately!"

Neji ducked as another arrows sailed over his head. He turned around and saw more arrows headed his way.

"Rotation!" He said, spinning around and repelling the arrows.

The messenger almost fell coming into Tsunade's office,"Fifth Hokage, it's an invasion!"

"What?"

"An army, at the gates. Neji Hyuuga is already there defending it."

"Tell every ninja in this village to hold back the attackers, and send for Shikamaru!" she yelled.

The messenger saluted her and disappeared.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Neji yelled, taking out the troops with blinding speed. The rest yelled and charged. Neji began to sweat, he knew he couldn't hold them all off, but he'd handle his fair share.

"Eight Trigrams Giant Rotation!" he said spinning when they were close enough. The entire front line, and many of the second line, were sent flying back towards their own. They spread out, some staying to fight Neji, while the rest assaulted Konoha. They broke through the walls in minutes, but had a surprise waiting for them on the other end. When they entered the city they were bombarded with jutsu from the ninja there. Shuriken and arrows flew as swords and Kunai clashed. The army, because of numbers, were gradually moving more into the village, burning houses and shops as they went.

Kakashi took out three at once, and ducked as one tried to cut off his head. Gai's dynamic entry took out three at once and blocked as another tried to punch him in the face. The soldiers began to get confident, and therefore more aggressive. The battle had destroyed half the village by the time the leaf shinobi turned the tide of battle. The soldiers, realizing that their numbers were diminishing fast, retreated, leaving their dead and injured behind. As the village began to rebuild itself, an injured soldier was taken before Tsunade and the village elders.

"Talk! Who sent this army?" Tsuande asked fiercely.

"Lord Archaen seeks the destruction of this village, and by his will it shall be done." The soldier answered, yet it sounded like he doubted it.

"You sound like you don't even believe that yourself." Tsunade said.

"Because there are three people out there our Lord does not want to live, yet he will not kill. They oppose his will the most." he said.

"Where are they?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because if your Lord's will is so inevitable, then their location shouldn't matter. It'd be more of a challenge of Archaen's power." Tsuande said.

The soldier frowned, Tsuanade smirked." They reside in the ruins of an old Temple off the coast. Find them, and then we shall see how wrong you are!" The soldier yelled. Though his hands were bound the soldier bashed his head into the floor, killing himself and shocking everyone else.

"That was new..." Kakashi said.

"I want someone, anyone, to head to those ruins and find who they're talking about." Tsunade said walking out.

"I guess we should be the ones to do it." Kakashi said,"Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, we might need you guys too if this turns out to be a trap."

The other three agreed and they were off, Naruto still angry at the destruction of the village...again.

Madara laughed as he sensed the assassins around him.

"If you were planning to assassinate me, you all have done too poor a job." he called out into the darkness.

Five shuriken flew out from five different directions, and went straight through Madara, with him not being harmed. From those five directions five bodies fell to the ground, and five of the six bodies of Pein landed next to them.

"It seems we have a new enemy." Madara said. He noticed a piece of paper sticking out the belt of one of the corpses and took it. He opened it up and read it, almost smiling,"And it seems they have powerful enemies as well."

"Should I go look for them?" Pein asked.

"No, I'll send Sasuke, I need you for a different mission." Madara said.

Moments later, he informed Hawk of what they were to do.

"Who are they?" Sasuke asked.

"The envelope didn't say, but apparently they think these three people are an immense threat to their king and sought to kill them after they finished with us, but they'll never get that chance. I want you all to find these ruins, find the people in it, and take out their king. No one threatens Akatsuki and lives."

Either by fate or destiny (that sounded so damn cliche!), they were all about to meet once again.

The ruins was true to its name, a large crumbling temple on the edge of a cliff overlooking a beach. The Leaf ninja were at the entrance, looking at it in awe.

"Hard to believe this old thing is still standing." Shikamaru said.

"Who on earth would want to be in here?" Ino asked.

"Someone who doesn't want to be found maybe." Sakura answered.

As they entered from the front, Hawk arrived from the side.

"Wow, looks like you could breath on it and it'll crumble." Karin said.

"Let's hurry this up." Sasuke said walking through a hole in the wall.

As both groups walked in, they looked at the crumbling statues and gaping holes in the floor that littered the temple. As both groups turned the corner, they ran into someone at the same time. A girl, wearing a white cloak over a white kimono that was open at the bottom, showing that she was wearing white pants, and white shoes. Her hair was black, and fell to her back. Her eyes were red, and she looked at both groups, almost in confusion.

"What are you people doing here?" she asked.

"We're looking for someone." Kakashi said.

"As our we." Sasuke added.

"And, who is this person you're looking for?" she now asked, looking at both groups.

"I don't think it mattes unless it's you, which I bet it is." Sasuke said.

She smirked,"True, I am one of the people you might be looking for, but I wonder what for?" this time she sounded somewhat hostile.

"We were told that you guys were a threat to-" Kakashi began.

"I thought so! More assassins!" she yelled.

"Wait! No-" Naruto began

She reached behind her cloak and pulled out a white bow. She quickly pulled out some weird yellow liquid in a bottle and threw it into the air, completing her mysterious combo by shooting an arrow at it. A bright flash nearly blinded them all. Sasuke, his sharingan on, saw another person charging for him. At that time Neji's byakugan sensed someone coming for them. The flash was only temporary, and everyone saw the two people coming for them. They all jumped back to get a clear view of who they were fighting. Hawk was attacked by another girl, this one resembled the first, except she had bangs. She was wearing a brown cloak, with a black shirt underneath, black pants, and black shoes. She had two swords, one was red, and the other was black. The third person that attacked was guy. His hair was black, his eyes also red. He was wearing a black cloak with a chainmail shirt, black cargo pants and shoes. His hair was shoulder-length, and he wielded a large sword with a large blade that had pieces of white metal in it. What looked like red vines wrapped around the sword, and despite its size it looked as though he wasn't having any trouble carrying it.

"Listen, we don't want to fight." Kakashi said.

"You're assassins, how else would you find this place? You've come to finish us off! Well you'll meet the same fate as the last group!" The two-sworded girl yelled charging. She was faster than they thought, almost striking Sasuke as he moved. The boy was the same, everyone now went to higher ground near the crumbling ceiling.

"Gotcha!" The archer yelled, throwing a bottle of lime colored liquid at both groups, amazing them by shooting the one heading towards Hawk, then throwing a dart at the one heading for the leaf. The all moved just in time, for when struck, the vials exploded, causing rubble from the ceiling to fall down. As the ninja moved, the other two attacked. Sasuke dodged the girl as Suigetsu locked swords with her. She used one sword to block him, and quickly used her free hand to block Sasuke; she was surprisingly strong. When Jugo attacked, she jumped back, Hawk finding out that it was was to stand clear of the archer, who shot three arrows at them. Sasuke and Suigetsu successfully blocked them, and Jugo blocked the arrow with his mutated arm. Naruto and Sai quickly moved as the boy's sword made a small crater in the already crumbling floor. Naruto and Sakura quickly grabbed his arms.

"We're not here to fight you!" Sakura yelled.

"I highly doubt that." The boy said, and with amazing strength pushed them both off of him. He ducked as the archer shot arrows coated with that lime liquid. Neji got in front and did his Rotation, escaping the small blast with harm.

"Gotta get that archer." Kakashi said dashing for her. She saw him coming and shot another arrow at him. He dodged and appeared behind her. He attempted to hit her behind the head, but she was already a distance away. Yamato jumped in to help him, attempting to use his wood style jutsu to immobilize her. She seemed to move before the attacks were made against her, quickly shooting an arrow as she did.

Sasuke stopped and used his Mangekyo Sharingan on the girl, as Kakashi used his sharingan, and Sakura performed a genjutsu on the boy.

"Damn, Genjutsu! Anrya!" The boy yelled.

"On it." the archer yelled. She threw another glass bottle full of twinkling shards and shot it, raining sprinkling shards on the ground. It also released a powerful odor, and potent sound wave, and a nerve agent that made them all feel numb, knocking all three out of the genjutsu.

"What the hell?" Naruto said.

"That was my anti-genjutsu potion, designed to hurt your eyes to keep you from staring; the powerful odor, sound wave, and nerve-agent makes it impossible to use genjutsu." the archer, Anrya said.

"That's a pretty good potion then." Kakashi complemented.

"Don't worry, we've only just begun." The double-sword girl smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

Lord Archaen walked out of the castle to a plateau black as night. A servant slowly approached him as he slowly walked.

"My deepest apologies for bringing you such news my lord, but the armies have failed in their attack on both the villages." the servant said, fearing the punishment for telling him this. However, Archaen smiled, and chuckled,"Good, that's what I wanted to hear."

The servant looked confused, but happy nonetheless.

"They will have their guard down now, especially if they suffered heavy casualties. This is the perfect moment." he said unsheathing his sword.

"Please my lord! Have mercy, I didn't want to tell you but they made me." the servant cried. Archaen rolled his eyes and raised his sword,"Now we see how they fare against this beast." he said digging his sword into the ground. There was a rumbling noise, then silence. Suddenly, a giant claw sprang from the ground, followed by another claw. Folds of a wing slowly rose from the ground as the torso, the tail, and the head rose. The servant almost wet his pants from what he saw. He was staring at a large black dragon.

"My pet, the time has come to prove your power to the world. There are three people who will stand in my way and the near future, and you know who they are. Find them, destroy them, and burn every village you come by to the ground!" Archaen yelled. As if it understood, the dragon gave a ground rattling roar and flew off as Archaen cackled madly.

The effects of the last bottle left everyone disorientated. They attempted to fight, but the sparkling shards made them see mirage-clones of everyone else, making it hard to find their enemies. Neji, Kakashi and Sasuke tried to use their eyes, but whenever they tried they began to sting from the shards in the air. Sasuke felt someone punch him in the the chest and throw him towards Naruto. The three people they were fighting seemed to be unaffected by the bottle, they were still fighting, and quickly gaining the upperhand. Kakashi moved as the large sword of the boy dug into the ground as he dragged it past. The effect was beginning to wear off and everyone was getting their senses back. They moved as he dragged his sword past them, probably tired from carrying it so much. Suddenly, everyone stopped, unable to move for some reason. The effects had completely worn off when they all realized what the marks in the ground was. They were standing in a circle with about three triangles in it. The three who attacked them smiled at them, happy at the results.

"Hey, they fell for it." Anrya said.

The boy's hand became consumed with fire,"Ah well, any last words before we send you to hell?" he smirked.

"Listen, we're not here to fight you! Are village was attacked and one of the soldiers we captured said that you'd be able to help us!" Sakura yelled. The made him pause, and look at the other two, who exchanged looks of confusion.

"You have to believe us, we don't want to fight you, we need your help." Ino said.

"That would explain why we beat you guys so easily." The double-wielder smirked.

"Don't rub it in..."Suigetsu sighed.

"Okay, I guess we can believe you...but just to be sure." Anrya said turning around and leaving. Moments later she returned, accompanied by an old lady with long white hair with a white robe, and a little girl who looked around Konohamaru's age with the same red eyes as the other three.

"Megami-sensei, looks like we might need to move our location, we've been found." Anrya said pointing at their prisoners.

"More assassins?" she asked.

"No! Our village was attacked and we were told you could help us!" Naruto yelled.

Megami seemed to think hard for a moment, then turned to the boy and said,"Senkei, release them, I believe their story."

Without hesitation, Senkei made two hand signs, and everyone was able to move again.

The girl pointed her sword at Sasuke and his group,"You still haven't told us your business here Akatsuki!" she spat.

"Failed assassination." Sasuke said.

"It seems Archaen is getting very bold now, but we must quickly head back to your village." Megami said.

"What's the rush?" Karin asked.

"If your village suffered any heavy casualties, which i'm sure it did, then his next phase is a very dangerous one."

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"I felt it when he summoned it, a dragon, and he will send it to burn your already weakened village to the ground."

"D-dragon?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"Yes, a dragon is a Lord's most precious pet. Powerful, and with skin able to break the metal of swords, many people search in vain for these creatures, and very few live to tell their tale."

"But...why? Why is he doing this to us?" Neji asked.

"He has started his crusade, his expansion. To ensure he isn't opposed by many, certain places, such as your village, must be crushed in order to prove his power. But we have spoken enough for now, and must now make haste." she said turning around and leaving.

"I guess your mission isn't done?" Senkei asked Sasuke.

"Not until we kill this guy." Sasuke said.

"Hm, you'll be with us for a while." he replied walking away.

They followed them to the living quarters of the temple, which to their surprise was in good condition. As everyone got their things ready, Shikamaru looked at the walls and saw that they rebuilt this part of the temple.

"So, what made you guys come here?" he asked,"You'd think you would want to pick a better hideout."

"We chose a place we knew people wouldn't find us right away. It was a good hideout while it lasted, but I guess dad knows his children." Anrya said.

"Dad!?" They all said in unison.

"Yeah, we're all the children of Lord Archaen. One prince and three princesses." Anrya said putting some things in her bag.

"This just got a whole lot more confusing." Ino said.

"We'll explain on the way. Let's go." Senkei said walking past them. The other two did the same, not even making eye contact with anyone.

"They seem to be a happy bunch." Kakashi said.

"They haven't had quite the pleasant life. Most people become reclusive and bitter as a result." Megami said, the little girl hiding behind her.

"Who's this?" Sakura asked smiling.

"This is Sam, the youngest. I always keep her with me to make sure nothing happens to her." Megami said looking down at the young girl.

"Hi," Sakura said bending down and extending her hand,"I'm Sakura, it's nice to meet you Sam."

Sam looked at her hand, and slowly poked it, quickly hiding back behind Megami, who began to laugh,"Ah, she's the shy one."

"Hey, the longer we wait here the more that dragon will burn things." Senkei said coming back.

Because of the age of Megami and Sam, they had to walk back to the village, which wasn't far. They were careful to avoid towns, since they weren't sure if there would be more assassins.

"So, mind telling us alittle about yourselves?" Kakashi asked after awhile.

"Well, I am their grandmother, to get the rest of the surprise out. Our family is a very strange one, since we can only be killed by the same gender of the same family."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"The only person who can kill Archaen is Senkei, but he refuses to."

"Wait, why is he the only one?" Neji asked.

"My parents ruled the kingdom before I did, and they were very power hungry. They wanted to make sure no one would try to destroy our bloodline, so they looked towards the mystics of our country for help. The end result was a curse that would cause countless deaths if we were to be killed by anyone other than the same gender of our family. My parents never though something like this would happen; i guess this is where the repercussions of their actions take full effect."

"Why doesn't he want to kill him?" Sasuke asked.

"I am not sure, he avoids the subject whenever it's brought up, so we've given up on it." Megami said.

"Maybe he just needs a good talking to." Naruto said looking him.

"He will speak to none of you about this, no matter how much you poke and prod."

Suddenly, Neji got an idea,"Maybe you could tell us about him so we'll know how to approach him."

Megami looked at Neji with a raised eyebrow,"Not a bad idea, though I'll cooperate since I want the same result. Very well, he is a second-born, the first born no longer among us; but I'll let you all talk to them about it. When it comes to killing, he will not do it unless that person threatening his life is right there. He will not go looking for trouble, even though it seems to find him." she sighed,"Archaen has made Senkei his primary target of annihilation, since he is literally the only one who can stop him. He sends assassins, and horrorific creatures after us, all in the attempt to kill his own son. I must admit it is a rather confusing and cruel thing to do to your own son, but I do not think Archaen considers us family anymore."

"As strong as he is he shouldn't have a problem beating him." Karin said.

"Yes, but his true potential is locked away, both by a physical and mental seal." Megami said.

"You've lost me abit there." Kakashi said.

"When we first learned how much power he had, they charged the mystics to ensure that he would gradually control that power, instead of it being released all at once. It was, at that time, for his and our safety, he was quite powerful, almost killed his mother during his birth because of it. Don't ask," she said to Sai, who was about to,"The seal was placed on him when he was eight, when that power shattered the top half of a castle because he caught a temper tantrum. It's been nine years since the seal, and it's beginning to weaken; however, because of his gentle and non-violent behavior, he has mentally kept it back for fear of destroying life because he couldn't control himself. He will fight if his life, or the life of one of his family is in danger, but not for kicks, or if there is another way."

"What about the first born?" Sasuke asked.

"I would like for you to ask them that, but I doubt they'll tell you. They had an older brother, about five years older than Senkei. I remember him, the whole kingdom was proud of him; the best at whatever he did. Archaen was proud of him too, the future of the kingdom was a powerful, prodigous young man. Because of this, Archaen got cocky about the power of the kingdom and wanted to expand. He told this to him, but their brother, like Senkei, who he actually taught to value life and not destroy it, was against the expansion. They argued about it for days, to the point where their brother was ready to give up the throne and leave the kingdom; he wanted no part in it. It came down to him leaving the kingdom, or so we though. Archaen hired a legion of shinobi to kill him as he left the kingdom, and ordered that if any civilians helped, they would be killed on the spot. That night they attacked, and succeeded; however Archaen didn't know that his children, now around their current ages now, 17, 16,16 and 10, were looking right outside the window when it happened. I know that you all had nothing to do with it, but it left a burning hatred in their hearts for anyone who called themselves shinobi. They were close to him, closer than their father, or mother when she was alive."

"What happened to their mother?" Sakura asked.

"After she had a child, the mystics would take it and perform rituals to make the child inhuman in nature, be strength, speed, intelligence, etc. It was a law set forth by my father, a heavy penalty for any who didn't follow it, including the queen. When she refused to let Sam go, they executed her, in front of the worst possible people, her children. That was when Senkei showed his power to his family, shattering the top half of the castle. He almost killed Archaen that day, and it is probably why he sends so much after him. What my son doesn't know is that I've been training all four of them, to better their chances of survival. I've taught them how to fight as one single unit: Anrya is the archer, and the eyes. She is the intelligence, always prepared to counter an opponents move, just how she did to you and your genjutsu. Seisha, the one with two swords, is the speed; she is quick, only aiming to wear out and confuse her opponent before actually striking. Senkei is the strength; though he is very quick, he is the strongest out of all four. As Seisha wears the opponent out, Senkei will strike with incredible ferocity. If they have to fight multiple opponents, like they did with you, Anrya will use her bottles that produce a way to counteract someone, and even strategically beat them."

"How does she make this?" Sakura asked, now intrigued.

"We're coming up to a meadow, this is where everyone helps her find ingredients for more potions." Megami said as the three ahead went off the road.

They began to cut up yellow and blue flowers at the root, carefully placing them in the bag Anrya had. They only collected a few, and continued down the road.

"How much further until we reach Konoha?" Anrya asked.

"You guys weren't that far, so another ten minutes." Kakashi said.

"Right, thanks." Anrya told him smiling.

"She doesn't seem so bitter." Ino said.

"She's the only one besides me, who takes care of Sam. She can't be bitter if she wants Sam to truly be happy. The other two will help too; I think Sam is the most important thing to them right now. She resembles their mother the most, which might sadden them some too."

"Hey! I can see the gates!" Anrya said.

"That's some eyesight..." Kakashi said.

"All I see are trees!" Seisha said.

"Hey, I can see it too. Wow, they weren't kidding, they did get attacked." Senkei said as the ravaged village came into view.


	4. Chapter 4

The three stopped at the gates and stared into the village.

"What's wrong?" Megami asked.

"If we go through these gates, then we might have to end up fighting dad..."Anrya said taking a quick glance towards Senkei.

"Perhaps, perhaps not; you can never be too sure of these things." Megami said.

"What's the problem? He's killed your mom and brother, you guys should be making plans on killing him now." Suigetsu said.

Karin hit him on the head,"Shut up! Didn't you hear what the old lady said about their thoughts on killing people?"

"I figured assassins such as yourselves wouldn't get it." Senkei said coldly.

"You don't really know us that well to judge us." Ino said indignantly.

"And? You're ninja, in my eyes you're all the same." he replied in the same cold tone.

He turned around,"I don't even know why we're helping the likes of you. We should just leave and hope he comes to finish you off."

"There are ordinary villagers in this village Senkei. Turning your back on them when you know you can help is the same as killing them, seeing as how your actions condemned them." Megami said.

He sighed and turned back around,"Fine, let's go."

Kakashi looked back at Sasuke, _This is going to get very messy, very quickly..._ he thought.

They walked into Tsunade's office, where she, the village elders, and some ANBU were waiting. When Sasuke's group entered her office the ANBU sprung. Thinking it was another trap, Anrya quickly pulled out a vial with white liquid on it, opened it, and flung its contents at the oncoming ninja. Most of them didn't stop in time and were caught with the white goo, which attached to them and grew until they were trapped in a large white goop glued to the floor.

"A trap!" Seisha said getting out her swords.

"No, it wasn't for you." Yamato told them.

They weren't convinced, but they didn't attack. Tsunade however, was very impressed with Anrya.

"Where did you get that potion?" she asked.

"I made it myself." she replied proudly.

"I see. I am Tsunade, Hokage of Konohagakure, and these two are the village elders. A recent attack, then interrogation of a captured soldier revealed that you three know and can stop the person who did this?"

"Your source was indeed correct." Megami said stepping forward.

"I'm sorry, I was told there were only three?" Tsunade said.

"Yes, these three, but I am their mentor and grandmother. My son Archaen, the one who did this, doesn't see me as a threat." she said. Megami told Tsunade the same story she told the group before about their family's history, and how only Senkei could kill Archaen.

"Then it's settled; Senkei will go to kill this guy and this will go away." Tsunade said casually.

"No, I won't." Senkei said.

Tsunade frowned,"Why not?"

"Because I can't."

"That's not answering the question."

"It is for me."

Tsunade was getting angry,"Is there a more specific reason why you can't do this?" she asked as calmly as her temper would let her.

"There's a reason for everything, a reason why I don't want to tell you."

Tsunade rose and Senkei grabbed the handle on his sword,"C'mon assassin, I've killed others like you without remorse."

"So you'll kill me, and not feel bad, but you won't kill your father?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes."

"I thought he was the pacifist." Tsunade said looking at Megami.

"Your lives aren't worth that much to me." he sneered.

Tsunade clenched her fists. Senkei turned to leave, but Naruto blocked his way.

"Move."

"No."

"Then I'll make you." he said grabbing his sword handle again.

"Senkei, clams down." Anrya said.

Senkei stopped and looked back at her. Giving a grunt of defeat he leaned against the wall and didn't look at anyone.

"This problem just won't go away if you turn the other cheek you know." Shikamaru said.

"There's no convincing him. Trust me we've tried." Seisha said casually.

"He refuses to see reason..." Anrya sighed.

"If you guys want it so much then why don't you do it?" he asked in a smart-assed tone.

"You know very well what the goddamn answer to that is." Sensha said glaring at him.

"Then we're right back where we started." Kakashi said, exhausted.

"I hope you change your mind soon; there are many lives that will be lost if your father goes through with this crusade." Tsunade said.

Senkei pushed passes Naruto as he left out the door. Seisha caught up with him outside.

"Hope you're still not planning to try and talk me into it." he said without looking back at her.

"Nah, I gave up on that long ago; just wanted to make sure you're alright." she said putting her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm making myself a staff tomorrow. I need a lighter weapon."

"I bet." she said looking at the large sword on his back.

"What makes you want to kill him? How come you don't feel that somewhere in him he's still dad?"

"I don't _really _want to kill him. I just want to stop him. Everyone else thinks you should kill him, probably because we all know defeating him would most likely make him more powerhungry and savage."

"Wait, Seisha, remember that lesson we learned in class that day?" Senkei turned to ask her.

"Which one? We had a semester full of em." she said sarcastically.

"About the one that talks about how many ways there are for heirs to inherit the crown?"

"Yeah; there was," she began to count her fingers,"By death, if the king went missing, if he were too ill to lead, it he were defeated in a duel-" she stopped at this last one and looked at Senkei. Both of them smiled at this new revelation.

"We'll tell them tomorrow." Seisha said finally.

"Yeah, I'm beat."


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, while Seisha went to tell everyone the news, Senkei was out in the forest by a lake. He was carving a staff out of a log, and was almost done when Naruto popped up.

"So, you're finally gonna fight your dad?" he asked crouching down.

"Seems like it. I won't kill him though; defeating him in a duel will end this war by giving me the crown." he said blowing the dust from the wood off the staff.

"So, only you can do it?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, has to be me. If I die, then not even my sisters can challenge him, so I'm still in alot of pressure." he said rolling the staff around in the water.

"Don't worry about beating him, I'll help ya with that." Naruto said.

"I don't think-"

"Ya know, a 'thanks Naruto' would be enough." Naruto interrupted him.

Senkei shook his head and laughed,"You're a strange kid you know that?"

"You wouldn't be the first to say that. Anyway, what're making a fishing pole?"

"No, a staff; I need a lighter weapon." he said taking the staff out the water and looking at it,"Perfect."

He got up and dusted himself off,"Gotta go find Megami and train."

Wanting to see how these guys trained, Naruto got up and followed him.

"So, what was your relationship with your brother like?"

"Like all brother relationships are; well the good ones anyway. I don't like to think about it much because of the fact I saw him meet his end. I guess we were all pretty close, and still try to be even with all this crap happening. Why?"

"Kinda reminded me of someone for a moment." Naruto said looking up.

They found Megami with Sam, Anrya, Seisha, Sakura and Hinata on the bridge. When Sam saw him coming she squealed with joy and ran up to hug him.

"Hey, you're getting pretty strong. Any faster and you would've knocked me down." Senkei joked.

"Sure you wanna go through with this? You know what level of skill dad's on right?" Anrya asked.

"Yeah, one that totally eclipses all of ours put together." Senkei said,"Megami, I made a new staff and want to try it out."

"Very well. Is there a field or training ground we can use?" Megami asked Sakura.

"Yeah, this way." Sakura said.

"H-hi Naruto." Hinata said brightly.

"What's up Hinata! You look nice today." Naruto said cheerfully. Hinata's cheeks went red as she hid them. She didn't hide them fast enough from Anrya's and Seisha's notice, and they looked back and forth between the two and smiled.

The made it to the field and Senkei stood in the middle with the staff on his back.

"I will send endless clones at you. The faster you defeat them, the more they come and the harder I make them. The slower you beat them, the more they will come and the harder I will make them. I expect nothing but the best." Megami called out.

"Demanding isn't she?" Kakashi said walking up.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said smiling.

"So, what's going on here?" Kakashi asked.

"Senkei's training to beat his dad." Sakura said.

"Looks like the rest of the town came out too." Kakashi said looking around.

Sure enough, people began to appear from everywhere; even Tsunade came out to see.

"Guess they want to see if he's got the right stuff." Hinata said.

Two clones, dressed in black robes came out and ran at him. He grabbed the fist of the first one and dropped kicked the second, boosting off of him in the process and flipping over the other. Still holding on to the fist he threw him over his shoulder. More began to come as Senkei readied himself. One punched and he ducked and hit him in the stomach. Senkei kicked his foot back to kick one behind him, then rolled and kicked one in the face. He landed on the ground and spun his feet like propellers to hit three coming up. He jumped up and kicked another in the face, spun around to punch one in the chest, then face, then knee'd him in the chin, boosting off of him to ram two coming from behind him. He flipped of the two and and kicked two more then roundhouse kicked three running up to him. Applause and cheers came from the crowd as everyone stared in amazement. One grabbed him and threw him over the others. He landed on one did a back kick to an oncoming clone. He began to strike faster as they came faster and surrounded him before attacking. When the last clone fell, a big one crashed into the ground. He ran at Senkei, who jumped over him and kicked him in the back of the head. The big clone turned to punch Senkei, but he back flipped out the way and, jumping again, spun and kicked the clone in the face so hard it spun around and fell. Now clones with gold robes came out, and Senkei got out the staff. One jumped for him, and he jumped up and slammed it to the ground. He twisted the staff and hit one in the chin before ramming it in his face. He duck and tripped three more and rose to hit three more in the face with a powerful swing. The clones began to attack from both front and back with faster strikes. Senkei could no longer stay stational, as they all attacked at once from all sides; he was forced to move about as he kept them from sorrounding him. After ten minutes of moving and striking, the clones stop coming. Senkei sunk to the ground panting, laying back in the grass so that he could relax and catch his breath. Megami walked up to him.

"Good, very good. I haven't seen you fight like that in quite some time. Catch your breath and see me later if you want more training." she said walking off with Sam at her heels.

The crowd parted as conversations about the training started. Naruto ran up to him as he was getting up,"That was awesome! I've never seen anyone fight like that against so many people!"

"I guess you don't fight that many people when you keep yourself hidden." Senkei said.

"You'd be suprised." Kakashi said walking up.

"I need some water, see ya." he said walking off.

"Still bitter towards us I see." Kakashi said.

"Not that much; he's stop insulting us sort of." Naruto said.

Senkei was at the bridge drinking a bottle of water when Sasuke walked up.

"What do you want ninja?" He asked.

"Information: When will you be ready to face Archaen?"

"When I'm ready, you'll know; it's not easy to fight family. Guess I'm telling _that_ to the wrong person."

"And what makes you think I know nothing about family?" Sasuke asked angrily; Senkei hit a vein.

"I bet you don't even have one." Senkei said.

"I did, and they were taken from me." Sasuke said indignantly.

"Let me guess; assassinated in some horrible way. I bet they deserved it." he replied snidely.

"Take that back." Sasuke said threateningly.

"Or what? You'll fight me? Attempt to kill me? I know every trick you ninja are capable of. Genjutsu, ninjutsu, and how many of you have your own little bloodline mutations. It's nothing special, or threatening when you learn how to counter it, Uchiha." he added.

Sasuke looked mildly surprised," How'd you know I was an Uchiha?"

"I saw your Sharingan before you used it on my sister. And if you are an Uchiha, then you must be the survivor, Sasuke. _Your _family was killed by your older brother Itachi. I have to give him credit for removing scum like you from this earth."

Sasuke had enough and reached for his sword. It was at that moment Anrya appeared and stopped him,"Don't do it; the situation will get out of control quickly."

"What the hell was that?" Seisha asked from behind Senkei.

"Stay out of this." Senkei said.

"Senkei, when are you going to learn not all people are alike? These people didn't kill big brother, they don't even know what he looks like! The guy in front of you also lost people close to him. Like it or not, you two are alike." Seisha said.

"In what way?" he asked.

"I'll just say you both lost people close to you and let that loss define your personalities in horrible ways." Seisha said.

"Whatever." Senkei said walking off.

"Sorry about him; we're still trying to make him see the light." Anrya told Sasuke.

"So he blames all ninja for his brother's death?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, he was the closest one to him out of all of us; his death hurt him the most. We try to get him to stop being so hateful of ninja, but with the assassins chasing us around it hasn't really been going well." Anrya replied.

"He doesn't seem to think you guys are people at all." Seisha looking at Senkei as he turned a corner and disappeared.

"What would you suggest to make us work better with him?" Sasuke asked.

They both shrugged their shoulders,"Hard to say. In this village, surrounded by ninja 24/7, I'm not sure if he even wants to be approached right now." Anrya said.


End file.
